Define: cramming

After spending almost my entire shift at work thinking about what to write for today, I write about something completely the opposite.

(Disclaimer: Let it be known that I was still working on my projects and tasks in the office. It was just the "back of my head" that was thinking about what to write for today, not all of it.)


Today's post would've been titled define: free time, a post about books I read, movies I've seen and some other activities that filled my idle time last year. It was a year of firsts after all, and I wanted to write about that. As you can see, I'm writing about the total opposite of having free time: cramming.

Saturday is going to be my first class ever for my Master's program in UPOU (University of the Philippines - Open University; as an Instructional Designer, I've developed a tick to define all acronyms when it appears the first time). I have a vague memory of being told that I should get my learning materials nearer the date of the first class, which in my mind, means I'm free not to think about my schooling ALL December. So there I was, reading Pride and Prejudice, watching Tron, Christmas gift shopping, snoozing and napping and visiting bazaars where I end up not buying anything but the entrance ticket.

Today, I called up the office to follow up on my "materials" and received instructions for a lot of different things instead. I neglected to check my other email account, where a welcome email was sent, detailing the many tasks I should've done during December - requesting for an account being the primary one. Without this account, I can't join the January 8 class and I can't download any of my course guides or modules.

Some things I learned from this latest cramming experience:
1. If you maintain several email addresses, check each one of them daily, or set up a filter for forwarding to a master email address.
2. Research what you need instead of waiting to be told. It's the age of forums, tweets, and constant gut-spilling by people. Surely, the information is out there.
3. Perform your tasks with open eyes, not half asleep. I'm pretty sure I was half asleep during enrollment, and so didn't bother with the details.

Jessie, a friend of very sensible and logical mind, sort of prepared me for something like this. He told me UPOU programs are self-study-intensive. You have to be willing to do the work and always be active online. I believed him this morning, and I believe him now even more.

Good bye free time, school time is here. I will try to write about you some day in between trips to the bathroom or while eating a 5-minute lunch.